Ingenuity Mars Helicopter – Ralf Schneider

Learning about the design development of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter and seeing the one and only identical model of Ingenuity on earth in action – that was the premise for an unbelievably cool event at SU!

This had to happen, so I leaned in and organized this School of Design Event. Many people collaborated to make this real. Stan Nowak ’99, an IID alumnus and brand director at AeroVironment, Inc. approached us with this opportunity. In search for a fitting venue on campus in November, I asked Kati Foley, assistant of VPA’s Dean Michael Tick, if there is a large indoor space we can reserve. The dome seemed to be out of question at first, but with a bit of luck the Syracuse University stadium became the surface of Mars.

Insurance policies had to be signed and certified drone pilots were needed to receive the official permission for the flight demonstration. The following images provide an insight of the very well received event in the SU dome, both by design and engineering students and the SU community.

Setting Up the event

Welcome Everyone!
in this unusual venue location for an event of the School of Design. You are probably as excited as I am about today’s presentation. My Name is Ralf Schneider, I am an Associate Professor in Industrial and Interaction Design. Our program is located in the Nancy Cantor Warehouse downtown. First, I would like to thank a number of collaborators who made this all happen:

Emily W Stokes-Rees, Director in the School of design and Don Carr (IID program chair) and Linda Ferguson for supporting the event.

Kati Foley, Project Director and Administrative Assistant to VPA’s Dean Michael Tick for her help in finding the right venue.

Linda Dickerson Hartsock and Dave Middleton for reaching out to their network and help in finding Part 107 licensed pilots.

Pete Sala, Vice President and Chief Campus Facilities Officer Campus Facilities, Administration and Services and his Executive Assistant Liza Rochelson for giving us the green light for this exciting location.

And Tom Forgione, Director of the Syracuse University Dome and his team Lorena Silva, Mark Barbuto and David A Beickert for supporting the event today.

Now, let me introduce you to the presenting team from AeroVironment:

Stan Nowak, Brand Director, graduated SU IID in 1999
Ben Pipenberg, Engineering Lead, Senior Aeromechanical Engineer, BS Aerospace Engineering, Penn State
Sara Langberg, Aeromechanical Engineer, BS Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis
Jeremy Tyler, Senior Aeromechanical Engineer, BS Aerospace Engineering, University of Arizona

Please join me in welcoming them today.

The Presentation